No one seems to know exactly what the ‘soul’ is, including me. That doesn’t stop me from using linguistic cues to talk about it, such as the ‘inner side of our life’ (W. Nelles), or the ‘logical negativity’ of our existence (W. Giegerich), or our ‘living being’ per se (my choice of words). Whatever we call it, it seems to represent the central authority within us that wants our lives to be whole and complete. The soul pursues its desire for wholeness relentlessly and according to its own rules. If it is prevented from doing so for a long time, it resorts to drastic measures: we become ill, we suffer, we torment ourselves and others, we do things that are difficult to understand.

For me, the role of counsellors in my profession is to provide a safe space for those who seek counselling and to maintain that space so that their soul can make the necessary movements. We are there to allow our client’s soul to take care of itself. This is a movement towards wholeness or integration. All soul movements are driven by a love that wants to be appreciated. It does not matter if it is an individual soul, a family soul or an even larger group soul. For:

Our soul is not just individual. Our soul also lives in the connection between us as individuals and the many important people, feelings and events in our family and in other groups of people. This is true of all the groups we share our lives with, up to and including our nation and humanity as a whole. The soul wants to have a place for everything that has been important to it. Time and space do not exist for it. It effortlessly includes past generations and distant places in its balance.

It goes even further: not only do we have a soul, but the soul also has us. And it does so in connection with all that is. An individual alone is not enough to live the life of an individual. We are the expression of living connections, even if we are largely unaware of them. Our soul is a living connection. It shapes us and our lives.

So my work is essentially to accompany people a few steps on the path of their soul. It is not I who knows where they are going, but their innermost being, their vitality, their soul. I witness what happens and express what I see. In this way they often become more familiar with their soul’s path and find it easier to trust it. When this happens, their lives feel more alive and may even take surprising turns.